StockNews.com Downgrades Fiserv (NYSE:FI) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Fiserv (NYSE:FI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on FI. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Fiserv from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. B. Riley increased their price objective on Fiserv from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays upped their target price on Fiserv from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Fiserv from $163.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Fiserv from $158.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $165.44.

Fiserv Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:FI opened at $148.94 on Thursday. Fiserv has a 1-year low of $109.11 and a 1-year high of $159.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $151.09 and a 200 day moving average of $145.83. The firm has a market cap of $87.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. Fiserv had a net margin of 16.68% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The company had revenue of $4.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fiserv will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fiserv news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 63,646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total value of $9,801,484.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,209,646. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 63,646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total transaction of $9,801,484.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 163,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,209,646. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John Gibbons sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.76, for a total value of $416,528.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,213,329.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 90,375 shares of company stock worth $13,850,195. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FI. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,705,241,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at $5,885,279,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at $2,329,623,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at $960,592,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at $927,298,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Company Profile

Fiserv, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides payments and financial services technology services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. It operates through Merchant Acceptance, Financial Technology, and Payments and Network segments.